VPD Inspector Les Yeo (right) speaks to the media Friday, December 7, 2012 in Vancouver, BC about a recent spike in incidents involving pedestrian fatalities and hit-and-run accidents involving pedestrians. Nilo Tumanda, the husband of Leonida Jiminez-Tumanda, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident December 2 in Vancouver, also addresses the media regarding his wife’s death. Five pedestrians have been killed by vehicles in the past two weeks.

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Vancouver Police Inspector Les Yeo had some blunt advice for a hit-and-run driver who killed a Vancouver mother on Sunday night: turn yourself in before police find you.

He said police have a 92-per-cent success rate when it comes to solving cases where drivers in cars hit and kill pedestrians and leave the scene.

“I understand you might be scared or worried about coming forward,” Yeo said Friday.

“It is important that we hear what you have to say. The theory of forensics is that every person leaves something at a crime scene and takes something away with them. It is only a matter of time before we find out who you are. You made some regrettable decisions that night. Now it is time to make the right decision and come forward.”

Yeo was referring to the death of Leonida Jimenez-Tumanda, 43. At about 10 p.m. on Dec. 2, she was on her way home from work at Edgewater Casino. The mother of two daughters got off a bus on Main Street and crossed the street to walk east on 43rd.

Close to home, at East 43rd and Prince Edward, she crossed from west to east on the south side of the street. She was hit by a vehicle. The driver fled the scene. Jimenez-Tumanda was found about 10 minutes later by a passing motorist. She was taken to hospital but died a few hours later from her injuries.

Anyone who may have seen the collision or has information about the identity of the driver is asked to call the Collision Investigation Unit at 604-717-3012.

At a news conference at the Vancouver police department on Cambie, her husband Nilo Tumanda appealed to the driver to come forward to police.

“Yesterday I told my five-year-old daughter that her Mummy was never coming home,” he said. “It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. She still doesn’t really understand.

“My wife’s father just arrived from the Philippines and our family from California and Kamloops are here. My family and I are devastated.

“I am appealing to the driver to do the right thing: please come forward. If anyone else that night has seen anything, please come and tell the police what you know.”

Tumanda read from a prepared statement and didn’t take any questions. Through police, he asked that the media respect his family’s privacy as they deal with their grief over his wife’s death.

Yeo said in the past 10 years, there have been 117 pedestrians killed by vehicles in Vancouver. The highest number was in 2005, when 20 were killed; the lowest in 2010, when five were killed.

So far this year, 11 pedestrians have been killed by drivers. In the past five days alone, five have died.

Yeo said it isn’t uncommon to see an increase in pedestrian fatalities in fall and winter with the increase in rain and longer nights.

“We see drivers that are distracted with their Blackberries and other electronic devices,” he said.

“We see pedestrians that are distracted — pedestrians that are walking right in front of vehicles. Pedestrians do have the right of way most of the time. You’re still going up against a 2,000- to 3,000-pound piece of metal. You have to make eye contact with the driver.”

To combat the recent increase in pedestrian deaths, Vancouver police are distributing reflective arm bands free of charge at the city’s Community Police Centres.

Yeo said he’s also told his officers to increase enforcement on both pedestrians and vehicles at intersections.

“We need to prevent having another family receive that knock on the door from a police officer,” he said, adding that he wanted to ensure that everyone gets “home safely this holiday season.”

To help the Tumanda family, an account has been created at TD Canada. Donations can be made at any branch by indicating the money should go to account 6345314 at branch 9466.

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